The Standard over the weekend mounted an investigation into the matter and came across a whole dossier of correspondence covering the whole saga from the key players. Here is our findings:
A number of team representatives claiming to constitute two- thirds of the 68 membership list of the Brikama Youth and Sport Association BYSA have written to the body demanding an early elective congress, by April 30th, instead of August when the next congress is due.
The protesting club reps argued that since this year is a congress year in the life of BYSA, and giving that the GFF’s new football calendar pegs the beginning of Nawettan for June, they would prefer an early congress to usher in a fresh executive in place before then. (BYSA constitution allows an extraordinary congress provided it is called by a two- thirds majority of members.)
They also expressed disappointment over the increment of BYSA membership from 50 to 68 “without their knowledge and approval”.
The protestors also accused BYSA of holding only two meetings in the course of the entire 2014 season.
However, BYSA officials neither replied to the protest letter, nor did they call a congress by the date demanded by the reps, prompting the protesting team reps to forward their demand to the National Sports Council, NSC.
In reaction, the NSC referred the matter to the West Coast regional sports committee with a request for that body to stop all activities of BYSA, investigate all allegations and report back to the Council by April 6-.
The regional sports committee indeed started work on the matter but The Standard understood that they did not send a report to the NSC by the April 6th deadline.
In addition, the NSC’s request for all BYSA activities to stop was not also heeded as matches have continued in other disciplines in Brikama.
The Standard contacted the NSC where an official confirmed receiving a complaint from team reps in Brikama, but he said the matter had been referred to the regional sports committee in Brikama.
When contacted, an official of BYSA confirmed they received the team reps’ letter but he said the whole thing is a plot by outside hidden hands aimed at illegally unseating the BYSA executive so that they can get a rubber-stamp association in Brikama who will be manipulated to do their bidding.
“However the good thing is that a good number of the teams who are supposed to have signed that demand have now written back to BYSA disassociating themselves with the protest letter. We shall go to congress at the right time, in August, 2015 as sanctioned by the constitution,” he said.
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